One thing I think anyone that has spent time in Germany, especially Bavaria, will notice is the amount of public holidays that are celebrated here. Of course, I don’t think it is anything to complain about, especially when so many of them fall in May when the weather compels you to spend time outside and the supermarkets start to fill with picnic food and BBQ accessories! Speaking of supermarkets, I have to say the only downside to the public holidays are that most shops will be closed for the day, which means thinking of something to do or somewhere to go to spend the time off! I have been thinking about places recently, and remembered the small town of
Veitshochheim and its gardens, just a short trip from Wuerzburg.
I first visited Veitshochheim last August when the garden was almost in full bloom, and again in December when the wintery atmosphere was something quite different! The summer visit was definitely my favourite, which would probably make sense as the main landmark of Veitshochheim, the Schloss Veisthochheim, was built as the summer palace of the Bishop Princes in the 17th Century. The palace sits at the entrance of the large Rococo gardens, it is a cheerful yellow colour after being recently restored to the state it was after an 18th Century expansion by Balthasar Neumann (if you recognise that name, it’s because he also built the Wuerzburg Residenz!). It is a modestly sized palace but still beautiful, and worth taking a tour inside, noting the details and secret passageways around the entire building.
The reason the palace is not as huge as its Wuerzburg counterpart is perhaps because the gardens are so impressive – and in the summer the guests of the Bishop Princes would have preferred to spend their time outside rather than in! You can take a tour of the gardens, as I did, in either German or English – the guides have a surprising amount of insight into the designs, the sculptures and pavilions among the hedges, revealing the symbolism and even inside jokes you wouldn’t otherwise pick out!
The village itself is sweet and traditional, sitting on the banks of the Main so you can choose to arrive either by train, bus or boat! I think it’s a great place to bring a picnic (or buy a pretzel!) and spend a hot afternoon sharing the same sunny scenery that the bishop princes would have for almost five hundred years!
Zuletzt geändert am: May 24 2018 um 5:58 PM
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